[svalli]

We have had some good freezes for two weeks now. I lost a lot of ripened tomatoes to frost at MIL's greenhouse. They had become mushy before we got there during a weekend, I had told her to pick and use the toms, but she had not even picked her ripe tomatoes before the freeze. I picked all green ones from our yard couple of weeks ago and they have been ripening indoors. I do still have a plastic tent GH at our yard with a heater with some hot peppers in there, but if the weather does not get any warmer I have to pick the peppers green and prune and spray the plants before moving them indoors. I have ten indoor pepper plants, so I can not bring the outside ones indoors without spraying them first.

Yesterday I made pickled winter squash, because my squash vines were killed by frost before the fruits ripened. The unripe squash and pumpkin can be pickled since the flesh does not get mushy when it is cooked. Most pumpkins do not get ripe here, so pickling them is quite popular.

Summer here was relatively warm and so far fall has been quite dry compared to last year, so I am not complaining about the early cool down.